Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Receives $144.83 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the six analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $144.83.

Several research analysts have commented on LGND shares. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $157.00 price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Benchmark lifted their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Barclays upped their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $125.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.39, for a total transaction of $159,585.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 22,534 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,397,392.26. This represents a 6.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Matthew E. Korenberg sold 9,772 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.22, for a total value of $989,121.84. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 50,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,139,647.94. This represents a 16.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,822 shares of company stock worth $2,133,658 over the last three months. 5.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 21.7% during the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 758 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 661 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. purchased a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth $67,000. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

LGND opened at $119.19 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.49 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a fifty day moving average of $108.29 and a 200 day moving average of $98.66. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $57.00 and a fifty-two week high of $129.90.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, a biopharmaceutical company, engages in the development and licensing of biopharmaceutical assets worldwide. Its commercial programs include Kyprolis and Evomela, which are used to treat multiple myeloma; Rylaze, a recombinant erwinia asparaginase for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia or lymphoblastic lymphoma in adult and pediatric patients; Filspari, a dual endothelin and angiotensin II receptor antagonist in development for rare kidney diseases and non-immunosuppressive treatment indicated for immunoglobulin A nephropathy; Teriparatide injection product for osteoporosis; Vaxneuvance for the prevention of invasive disease caused by streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes; and Pneumosil, a pneumococcal conjugate vaccine to help fight against pneumococcal pneumonia among children.